Harry Kane has stated that Bayern Munich needs to play with more energy and confidence following their 1-0 loss to Lazio in the UEFA Champions League.
The latest defeat marked the end of a difficult week for the German team, as they were also beaten 3-0 by Bayer Leverkusen in a crucial Bundesliga match.
These consecutive losses have increased the pressure on their coach, Thomas Tuchel, and the team’s star players.
Kane himself had a missed opportunity early in the game that could have helped Bayern regain their composure.
However, Bayern’s hopes were dashed when Dayot Upamecano was shown a red card for a reckless challenge on Gustav Isaksen in the penalty area, just over 20 minutes before the end of the game. As a result, Ciro Immobile successfully converted the penalty kick, giving Lazio a valuable advantage to carry into their upcoming match at the Aliianz Arena in three weeks’ time.
“Really tough week,” Kane told TNT Sports. “I thought the game today in the first half we started well, we had some clear chances, I had one myself, Jamal [Musiala] had one, and in these games they are big moments and we weren’t able to take them in the first half, but the second half was disappointing.
“We came out with less energy, less confidence, too many balls given away, and ultimately we got punished. Once you go down to 10 men, it’s always difficult to find a way back into the game.
“I think for us now we have to find it amongst ourselves. We have to find more energy and more confidence. We’re still in a race for the Bundesliga, still in this tie when they come to our stadium in a few weeks, so we have to keep fighting and look forward and try and turn our momentum around.”
Kane’s transfer to Bayern Munich from Tottenham was expected to guarantee his long-awaited victory in a major club or international tournament. Despite his impressive record of 28 goals in 29 games this season, the 30-year-old is now at risk of not winning any trophies in his first year in Germany.
Bayern Munich has been the Bundesliga champions for the past 11 seasons. However, they currently trail unbeaten Leverkusen by five points in the league table and suffered a humiliating defeat in the German Cup against third-tier team Saarbrucken in November.
Nevertheless, Kane remains optimistic that Bayern can turn their season around, as there are still plenty of opportunities to compete for titles.
He said: “We have big games, big things to fight for still. We’re not out of it. We will never give up, and we just need to turn it around.
“One game or one spark can change a lot in football, and we need to try and find that so we’ll push together. We’ll push each other in training and in the game on the weekend and try and find it.”
